Navantia Said to Be in Negotiations With Saudi Arabia for 5 Avante 2200 Corvettes

Navantia Said to Be in Negotiations With Saudi Arabia for 5 Avante 2200 Corvettes

Posted On
Tuesday, 19 January 2016 09:21

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Naval
Industry News - Spain, Saudi Arabia

Navantia
Said to Be in Negotiations With Saudi Arabia for 5 Avante 2200 Corvettes

According
to Spanish daily newspaper La
Voz de Galicia, Spanish shipyard Navantia is said to be
in advanced negotiations with Saudi Arabia for five Avante 2200 corvettes.
The newspaper talks about "final phase" of talks. It is likely
that Navantia is competing against Lockheed Martin who is offering four
Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) Ships, an export variant of Lockheed
Martin's Freedom class LCS currently in use with the U.S. Navy.

We just revealed the design of the MMSC last week while attending the
SNA 2016 show. Follow
this link to see the pictures.
The ships are being offered as part of a modernization program of the
Saudi navy's eastern fleet called SNEP II (Saudi Naval Expansion Program).
Saudi Arabia has already commited to purchase 10x
MH-60R Romeo helicopters as part as SNEP II.

The
Avante 2200 corvette offered to Saudi Arabia is said to be a variation
of the design selected by the Venezuelan Navy, where it is known as
the Guaiquerí-class patrol boat.

The vessel has a displacement of 2,200 tons with a length of 98.90 meters
and a maximum speed of 25 knots. It was designed for low intensity missions
such as patrol in the economic exclusive zone (EEZ), safeguard of sea
lanes of communication, intelligence gathering, environment protection,
drugs smuggling prevention, humanitarian relief and search and rescue
operations. Venezuela procured four vessels of this class.

The
F-538 Frigate design showcased by Navantia during NAVDEX 2015 in the UAE

A
slightly larger variation of the Avante 2200 design is the Avante 3000/2400
(or F-538) design which we covered last year during NAVDEX 2015, a naval
defense exhibition held in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Navantia representatives at
the show told us it was representative of a design being proposed to the
Peruvian Navy. But since this configuration appears to be much closer
what is being offered by Lockheed Martin with the MMSC, Navy Recognition
believes it is possible that Navantia is offering a vessel of this design
to the Royal Saudi Navy as well.

As we reported during NAVDEX 2015: With a moderate displacement of about
3,800 tons, the F-538 is Navantia's answer to navies looking for mid-size
frigates to conduct a wide range of missions. The F-538 is quite uniquely
fitted with 2x Millenium guns and 1x RAM launcher.